Prospect Talent Score

Probability of Success

History

2008-09: Gus Young scored 5 goals with 29 assists in 29 games for Massachusetts’ Nobles and Greenough School and was named to the All Independent School League team. Ranked 136th in Central Scouting’s final rankings, he was selected by Colorado in the seventh round (184th overall) of the 2009 NHL Draft. He committed to playing college hockey at Yale in 2010-11.

2009-10: Young was a team captain for Nobles and Greenough as a senior as the team won the Independent School League championship and reached the semifinals of the New England Prep School tournament. He lead prep school defensemen in scoring with 12 goals and 26 assists in 28 games.

2010-11: Young saw limited ice time as a freshman at Yale on a Bulldogs team that featured three senior defensemen. In five games he had one assist and was +4 with 6 PMs. Yale finished second in the ECAC Hockey League regular season but dominated in the conference tournament, winning its last three games by a combined 14-0. The Bulldogs lost to eventual national champion Minnesota-Duluth in the NCAA East Regional final.

2011-12: Young stepped into a full-time role for Yale as a sophomore. Skating in all 35 games for the Bulldogs, he scored 3 goals with 9 assists and was plus-four. His 36 penalty minutes were the most amongst Yale defensemen. Yale slipped to sixth in ECAC Hockey, after finishing second and winning the league tournament the previous season, and lost to Harvard in the ECAC quarterfinals.

2012-13: Gus Young skated on the top defense pairing for NCAA national champion Yale as a junior. Partnered with freshman Rob O’Gara, a Bruins prospect, Young scored 2 goals with 7 assists and was -4 with 58 penalty minutes in 37 games for the Bulldogs. Yale finished third in ECAC Hockey in the regular season. The Bulldogs lost back-to-back games in the ECAC semifinal and third place games but then rolled through four straight games after receiving an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, winning two in overtime, to capture the national title. Yale shutout Quinnipiac, 4-0, in the Frozen Four championship game.

Talent Analysis

Young is decent skater with good vision and puck-moving skills. A productive offensive defenseman at the high school level, Young has yet to show the same confidence playing against superior competition in the NCAA.

Future

Young is currently in his last year of college hockey and helped lead Yale hockey to their first national championship last year. He is strictly a shutdown defenseman and his presence will be welcome in Lake Erie next year.

Photo: Defenseman Stefan Elliott spent most of 2013-14 with Lake Erie in the AHL, but he returned to the NHL late in the season and scored a goal in an April 13th overtime loss in Anaheim (courtesy of Debora Robinson/NHLI via Getty Images)

As the 2013-14 hockey season ends for many Colorado Avalanche prospects, there are still a few competing for their respective league championships.

Photo: Freshman defenseman Will Butcher (#7) made his mark with 16 points in his first year for the University of Denver. The Pioneers won the inaugural NCHC tournament with a win over Miami (courtesy of Karl Gehring/The Denver Post via Getty Images)

In the last four drafts, the Colorado Avalanche only selected a combined six players from the USHL, a pipeline to the NCAA, and European junior leagues. To date, only four of those players still remain a part of the Avalanche organization.

Photo: Drafted third overall in 2009, Avalanche center Matt Duchene has developed into one of the most electric offensive players in the NHL (courtesy of Russell Lansford/Icon SMI)

It is safe to say that the 2008-09 season was a season Colorado Avalanche fans would much rather forget. Not only did their 32-45-5 record leave them in last place in the Western Conference, but 27th overall in the NHL as well.

Photo: Mississauga Steelheads goaltender Spencer Martin was Colorado’s third round pick in 2013, adding to an already strong group of prospects in net for the Avalanche (courtesy of Terry Wilson/OHL Images)